“Some of it sounds so pure and clear and I am picturing him huddled around all that gear, simply magical. In my memory he didn’t play ‘for’ the audience but was rather trying to perfect these various permutations of sound within himself…and a few of us just happened to be present.” – Tom Lee
"Open Vocal Phrases, Where Songs Come in And Out" offers an intimate unedited Arthur Russell solo live performance recorded at Phill Niblock’s Experimental Intermedia Foundation in Downtown NYC on 12/20/85.
Phill curated and produced with Arthur two concerts at EI that would become an integral part of the foundation for the World of Echo album. Arthur titled this performance “Open Vocal Phrases, Where Songs Come in and Out”. This extraordinary performance was recorded by Steve Cellum and overseen by Phill and Arthur. Arthur would later edit sections from this performance merging it with studio material recorded at Battery Sound to finalize the World of Echo album released in 1986. Side four of the vinyl includes two instrumental tracks from "Sketches For World Of Echo", "Changing Forest" and "Sunlit Water"
